If By Rudyard Kipling

I read this as a teen and never felt so inspired. I still keep reading to keep myself inspired.

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise;
   
If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools;
   
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’
   
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Post · Jan 29, 2020 · Permalink · 2min read

Would you be incredibly stupid, but lucky or incredibly genius, but unlucky?

Interaction with 3 kids that my wife was babysitting. They were watching some random game reviewer’s video, where he was asking different ‘what would you choose?’ questions and showing polls of what other people chose afterwards.

One of the question is “Would you be incredibly stupid, but lucky or be incredibly genius, but unlucky?”

Kid 1: What question is that, of course I would choose genius.

Kid 2: Yeah me too. [After a pause] but being lucky is lucky. I would prefer to be lucky.

Kid 1: No. But that makes you stupid. No body wants to be stupid. I would choose genius and unlucky

Kid 2: What would you do being genius it is of no use to you.

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.

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Me: Kids, you are both right, but you are missing other factors such as hard work and planning. It doesn’t matter whether you are genius or lucky, unless you put in effort you can’t succeed.

Kid 3 [came running to me]: His time of choosing video is over. It’s my turn , can I choose the next video.

They soon moved on to watching next video, but I am still stuck with that question.

Interaction · Dec 17, 2019 · Permalink · 1min read

Problem With Fake News in Digital Marketing

I was scrolling through my news feed, and shocked at what I found.

First, It was a story about a news paper vendor that helped Bill Gates when he doesn’t have money. - Fake

Next, It was a story about an interaction between JRD Tata and Amitabh - Fake.

Then, another couple of posts describing interactions where either candidates outsmarted interviewers or employees outsmarted their bosses. - Fake
Followed by a question of “what do you think?” or “Follow for more such stories”.

Problem is, such posts gets you views, likes, and LinkedIn connections but can never form a real connection. At some point, people differentiate between genuine and fake ones. When that happens, you might loose your authenticity and trust.

Digital Marketing is not just about quick views and likes, its about being authentic, gaining trust and earning loyal customers.

Post · Dec 3, 2019 · Permalink · 1min read

The Hulk is confused. Help him choose which side, he should step in.

A concept shoot, inspired from the conflict of decisions we face every single day.

Your life is not defined by one big decision. It is defined by small decisions you make over and over again.

Note · Jan 12, 2019 · Permalink · 1min read

Change happens, not when you change, but when you be yourself.

Note · Jan 2, 2019 · Permalink · 1min read

I was talking to a 5 yr old girl, X and asked her to tell a story, while she is sketching

X - Drew 3 figures on a paper, started speaking, pointing to them :

This is a princess, and this is her mean step mom. She used to trouble princess. This is prince. They both killed their mean step mom and lived happily.

Me : Oh that’s good. Can you tell another one.

X - Again drew 3 more figures : This is the princess, and this is an ugly monster. Monster attacked princess. Then prince came and saved her, and killed the monster.

Me : Well, another one.

X - Drew 3 more figures : This is the princess, you see her big gown. This is the bad guy. Prince came and fights the bad guy and saved the princess.

As cute as she said it, it is equally frightening. This is not how children should be influenced.

To all young girls - There will be no prince charming, coming to your rescue. You have to fight your own battles.

Interaction · Dec 19, 2018 · Permalink · 1min read

10 Rules for Profitable Self Discipline

It was a sunday evening and we were discussing random topics among our friends. One of the topics that came up, was on how to communicate effectively? or more precisely, how to discuss crucial topics, without either one being offended. This discussion, reminded me of an old yet, timeless speech by Napoleon Hill on 10 Rules for Profitable Self Discipline.

The 10 Rules for Profitable self discipline are
1. Keep cool when others get hot.
2. Remember that there are 3 sides of an argument. Your side, other side and the right side, which is usually between the first two.
3. Never give directions when angry.
4. Treat all people as good as you would, yourself.
5. Look for the seed of equivalent benefit in every situation 6. Learn the almost forgotten art of asking questions and then listening to their answer
7. Never say or do anything that may influence other person, without asking yourself this question : Will it benefit them or hurt them ? If it hurts, don’t say or do it.
8. Learn the difference between a friendly analysis and unfriendly criticism
9. A good leaders in any calling, take orders as cheerfully as he/she gives.
10. Tolerance in human relations is just as important as tolerance in operation of mechanics

These principle apply in any healthy relationship, be it work, friends or family. Let’s discuss more about what each of those statements mean.

© [ivanko80] /Adobe Stock

Napoleon Hill is one of the greatest and influential authors of all time, famous for his best selling books likes ‘Think and Grow Rich’, ‘Law of Success’, ‘Outwitting the Devil’ and many more. His books had a profound impact on me and this post is one of his precious advices.

1. Keep cool when others get hot

We all get angry when others get angry, we raise our tone, when other person raises theirs. It takes extreme self-discipline to stay calm and not loose our composure, even when the other person is out of control. When we get angry or emotionally off-balance, we would loose our thoughts and say things, that we do not intend to. It would just make the situation even worse. On contrary, being composed, puts you in power, allow you to think rationally and also give the other person a chance to realize their emotional state and to cool down.

2. Remember that there are 3 sides of an argument. Your side, other side and the right side, which is usually between the first two

In majority of the arguments that I came across, it’s either both people are partly at fault or neither are at fault. Next time when you get into an argument, remember that other person could be true from his or her point of view, as well. Try to find a common ground, that would support both your logic.

3. Never give directions when angry

As discussed in the 1st rule, Our brains are vulnerable, when angry, cannot think rationally. When angry, the decisions we take or orders we pass, will always have a negative effect on us and people we give orders to. Think about various scenarios in your life, and think how you reacted to it, when angry, when happy, when sad, when in love… and you will understand this. Would love to hear your stories in the comments below.

4. Treat all people as good as you would, yourself.

When engaged in a conversation with any person, treat them as you would treat yourself. Stop treating them like inferiors, superiors, juniors,… Need not have any extra dominance or extra servitude in any of your conversations. Treat them like equals. It will be a mutual respect.

5. Look for the seed of equivalent benefit in every situation

An interaction doesn’t mean that one has to loose, for other person to win. For example, in a work meeting, instead of going into ‘my idea vs your idea’, try to find a solution that would benefit both. Look for a seed of eqiovalent benefit in every situation.

6. Learn the almost forgotten art of asking questions and then listening to their answer

© [LIGHTFIELD STUDIOS] /Adobe Stock

Everyday, I hear at least two people, asking me ‘How are you?’, and then walk away before I even answer. I have done that a lot of times too, we ask questions for sake of asking, never really concerned about the answer. It has became an almost forgotten art. So next time, when you ask a question, try to pause/refrain yourself from walking away or asking more questions, and listen to what they have to answer. You will experience an exponential growth of friendship, trust and connection with them.

7. Never say or do anything that may influence other person, without asking yourself this question : Will it benefit them or hurt them ? If it hurts, don’t say or do it.

We all were and will be in situations, where we could have a profound influence on other person, as a parent, boss, mentor, friend, … During these situations, be extra cautious about what you say or ask. Never say or do anything that will hurt them. Try to put yourself in their shoes and imagine, would it hurt them or encourage them and act accordingly.

8. Learn the difference between a friendly analysis and unfriendly criticism

Friendly Analysis is important. It is what makes the world better. But Unfriendly criticism is un welcomed, un necessary. Learn how to give a friendly analysis, instead of criticizing. Everyone must learn the difference between a friendly analysis and unfriendly criticism, weather you are on receiving end or on giving end.

9. A good leaders in any calling, take orders as cheerfully as he/she gives.

It’s easy to give orders, telling people what to do all the time. But it’s more important to listen to your people and take action based on that. It’s extremely important to be able to cheerfully take orders, as much as he/she gives. For example, if team decides to go for lunch at some ‘X’ place, be happy eating there with team, instead of forcing them to go to a ‘Y’ place.

10. Tolerance in human relations is just as important as tolerance in operation of mechanics

In mechanics, no machine can hold dimensions precisely to the nominal value, so there must be acceptable degrees of variation. Tolerance is that boundaries for acceptable build. For example, A machine needs 100 units of power, it has a tolerance of +/- 1%. Which means, machine should accept 99 as well as 101 units of power, without any problems. In human relations too, No one can have nominal value. One must have a tolerance, and let go/ ignore few things that you might not like in other person.

I came across these, initially through a video on youtube, with title ‘Napoleon Hill - 10 Rules of Self Discipline’. Since then, I try to incorporate these rules into my daily interactions and I observed a great improvement in my self-being, as well as relationship with other people. These principles are originally from his book ‘The Law of Success’. I would highly encourage everyone to read Napoleon Hill’s books. They contain timeless pieces of advice, that will help you throughout your life.

Post · Nov 13, 2018 · Permalink · 6min read

“I am not who you think I am.
I am not who I think I am.
I am who I think you think I am ”
-Thomas Cooley

Read it multiple times to understand.

Note · Apr 21, 2018 · Permalink · 1min read